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5 Francs Blue type
| Issuer | Banque de la Martinique |
|---|---|
| Year | 1901 |
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| Currency | Franc (1855-1960) |
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| Obverse description | Blue intaglio print on white paper with a native man and woman as lateral vignettes flanking the central composition, a cannon and anchor motif at lower center serving as emblems of colonial authority. Three signature varieties are known for this type. The text block carries the bank title, promise-to-pay legend, and penal code warning against counterfeiting. |
|---|---|
| Obverse lettering | BANQUE DE LA MARTINIQUE IL SERÁ PAYÉ EN ESPÈCES, A VUE, AU PORTEUR CINQ FRANCS (PAR GROUPE DE CINQ BILLETS.) Le Directeur Le Caissier L`ART 139 DU CODE PÉNAL PUNIT DES TRAVAUX FORCÉS A PERPEÉTUITÉ LE CONTRFACTEUR AH - CABASSON . INV ET DEL 1874 J. ROBERT SC. (Translation: Bank of Martinique will pay in cash to bearer Five Francs (per group of five tickets) Article 139 of the Penal Code punishes with forced labor in perpetuity the counterfeiter.) |
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| Comments |
The Banque de la Martinique was not an independent central bank in any modern sense — it operated under a concession framework tied directly to the Banque de France, which also handled its note production. That relationship explains why this 5 Francs draws so heavily on metropolitan French printing standards, with Robert handling the intaglio work on the face and Wullschleger cutting the reverse.
Harang, who worked under the pseudonym Cabasson, designed for the Banque de France across multiple colonial issues during this period. The same hand appears on notes for Guadeloupe and French Guiana from roughly the same years, making attribution straightforward but individual rarity harder to assess without provenance.